GOP Groups Far Outstripping Democrats in Election Spending

Elephant crushing donkeyRepublican-backed third-party advocacy groups are far outspending similar Democratic-leaning groups in the run-up to the November mid-term election. A company that tracks political advertising reports that from August 1 to September 8, Republican groups spent $10.9 million on television ads to influence Senate races, compared to $1.3 million spent by Democratic groups. For House races, Republican groups spent $3.1 million to Democrats' $1.5 million. The huge disparity highlights the possibility that, after the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year in the Citizens United case (which gave corporations the right to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence American elections), a small number of extremely wealthy individual and corporate donors unknown to the general public are essentially buying Congress. Leading the spending is a group called Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, organized by Republican operatives Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, who cultivate wealthy individual and corporate donors, like Texas billionaire Harold Simmons. Crossroads GPS is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which means it does not have to disclose its donors. The biggest sponsor of TV ads in House races has been Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the astroturf front group created and funded by oil billionaire David Koch, which, like Crossroads GPS, is also a 501(c)(4) group and doesn't have to disclose its donors.

Comments

GOP needs to spend more money because the Tea Baggers are beating them by not spending more money and running on issues. GOP had better wake up soon and see what Americans are wanting in Washington.

Come on! Both parties benefit from the ruling. Nice bias. How about a post that compares who gives how much to each of the political parties, or to individual candidates for that matter. THAT would be useful information.

Of course the republicans are spending so much more because they are supporting their own businesses. The media is owned by predominately conservative rich greedy folks trying to protect what they got and the methods which keep the gravy running, corporate welfare. How nice of the supreme court to stab the public in the back in order to help their crony base. Too bad for them that no amount of spending is going to help because anybody with half a brain realizes that the republicans are evil incarnate. They destroyed the economy even though they were the prime beneficiaries of the one they trashed. Anyone who supports a republican is either a fool or a fat cat that wants to keep on getting over on everybody else. The republicans are communists of the corporate state.